Delivery

Sermons are usually, but not always, delivered in
a house of worship, most of which have a pulpit or ambo, an elevated
architectural feature. A sermon is also known as a homily within the Catholic
Church. The word "sermon" comes from a Middle
English word which was derived from an Old French
term, which in turn came from the Latin word sermō;
("discourse"). (Actually, it meant "conversation", and early
sermons were delivered in the form of question and answer, only
later did it come to mean a monologue).

In modern language, the word "sermon" can also be
used pejoratively in
secular terms to describe a lengthy or tedious speech delivered
with great passion, by any person, to an uninterested audience. A
sermonette is a short sermon (usually associated with television
broadcasting, as stations would present a sermonette before
signing
off for the night).

Diverse traditions

In traditional Indian philosophy, a
teacher or guru delivers a
talk known as a satsang.

In Islam, the Khutba (Arabic:
(خطبة khuṭbah) is a sermon delivered before Friday prayers and
after Eid prayers. There is also a khutba delivered during Hajj in
the plains of Arafat, just outside Mecca. This khutba addresses the
entire Muslim nation, as its message is carried back by pilgrims to
their respective homelands.

In the Roman Catholic tradition, the art of
preaching has developed through the theological field of homiletics.

Many sermons have been written down, collected
and published. Such sermons include John Wesley's 53 Standard
Sermons, John Chrysostom's Homily on the Resurrection (preached
every Easter in Orthodox churches) and Gregory Nazianzus' homily
"On the Theophany, or Birthday of Christ" (preached every Christmas
in Orthodox churches). Martin Luther began a tradition of
publishing sermons (Hauspostille) on the Sunday lessons for the
edification of readers. This tradition was continued by Chemnitz
and Arndt and others into the following centuries.

Role in Protestantism

The Reformation led
to Protestant
sermons, many of which defended the schism
with the Roman Catholic Church and explained beliefs about
scripture, theology and devotion. Since the distinctive doctrines
of Protestantism held that salvation was by faith alone,
and convincing people to believe the Gospel and place trust in God
for their salvation through Jesus Christ was the decisive step in
salvation, in Protestantism the sermon and hymn came to replace the Eucharist as the
central act of Christian worship. To rouse deeper faith in the churchgoers, rather
than have them partake in a ritual, was the goal of Protestant
worship conditioned by these beliefs.

Types

There are a number of different types of
preaching, that differ both by their subject matter and by their
intended audience. and accordingly not every preacher is
well-versed in each type. The types of preaching are:

Topical preaching - concerned with a particular subject of
current concern;

Biographical
preaching - tracing the story of a particular biblical character
through a number of parts of the Bible.

Evangelistic
preaching - seeking to convert the congregation or bring them back
to their previous faith through a recounting of the Good News.